Leeds rowing club to get new £1m boathouse

An artist's impression of how the new rowing club boathouse will look.

A NEw £1m boathouse is set to be built at Thwaites Mill as part of plans to get more people in the city involved in rowing.

Work will start on the new University of Leeds boathouse at the beginning of next month and should be completed by the end of June.

Rob Wadsworth, head of sport at the University of Leeds, said: “The boathouse is a huge boost to the development of rowing at Leeds. It will mean that the University of Leeds Rowing Club will have a base within the city rather than their current location in York, enabling the clubs to have increased training sessions which we hope will boost participation numbers across students and staff and enable the teams to be more competitive.”

A spokesman said: “It is hoped that the new facility will greatly enhance the development of rowing not only at the University but also across the wider city.”

The project is being delivered through a unique partnership between the University of Leeds, Leeds University Union, Leeds Rowing Club and Sport England.

It is funded by University of Leeds, British Rowing, Sport England and Wren.

New facilities will include a boat store (40-50 boats), changing facilities, meeting/training room, car parking and direct access to the River Aire.

President of the University of Leeds Rowing Club, Beth Picott, said: “We are extremely excited about the new boathouse plans and really appreciate the support the club is receiving from all organisations involved.

“We are looking forward to forging an even stronger partnership with Leeds City Rowing Club and hope that these fantastic new facilities will help our club increase participation.”